Ameren Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AEE)

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 2,984 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 2,268% compared to the average volume of 126 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on AEE. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Mizuho raised Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.89.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameren

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEE. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the third quarter valued at about $1,417,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Ameren by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,632,000. Lindenwold Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,682,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 79.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 246,030 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,496,000 after buying an additional 108,664 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Ameren stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $90.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,095,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,568,610. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $90.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.25. The company has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.47. Ameren has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $95.69.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.06%.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business.